Meri Patni…remarkable achievement
He’s frozen, tongue-tied and yet his inner self screams to not let this opportunity pass by. The journey started with him having no intention to get married. The plan was to reject the girl or be rejected. Now sitting next to a beautiful lady, he traveled from Lucknow to “seeâ€, he sits there caught on the other side of the fence, the utter prospect of him being rejected by the girl. A girl, he is falling hard for. Trapping on camera - such finer, delicate sequences lifted from your and my life is what makes Main, Meri Patni aur Woh (MMPaW) utterly enjoyable.
The film belongs to Chandan Arora, no doubt. Here is one director who has escaped the traps of Hollywood hypnotism, thoroughly enjoying in telling a simplistic tale of a middle class guy from Lucknow. But the real meat in Arora’s screenplay lies in catching those finer nuances of the everyday human interactions, in such subtle yet noticeable ways.
The movie is about Rajpal Yadav, as Chote Babu, Librarian of Lucknow University. Age 34, living alone, has no interest in marriage and is forced to undertake a journey to Bareilly along with his Mamajee/Uncle (Vinod Nagpal in a such a natural performance) to see a prospective girl for marriage. Seeing the beautiful Rituparna Sengupta sitting next to him, he finds himself on the opposite end – desperately hoping the girl will not reject him since he is falling in love with her. Alls well that ends well.
But does it? Chote Babu’s problems start after the marriage. Having married a woman so beautiful that he didn’t even dream he could, a woman taller than him, smarter than him…his life turns into a living hell, when he thinks each guy in his life, from his doodh-wala to the vegetable vendor to his own friend the hockey coach, is ogling at his wife. It’s hilarious to see the steps he takes, to take care of each guy he has doubts about. But he’s completely stumped when his wife’s childhood friend enters their life.
MMPaW is a visit to Hrishida’s or Basuda’s kind of movies. A simple story with complete fluidity in the way it is told.
To say that Rajpal Yadav has given a brilliant performance is the greatest understatement of the year. An amazing display of depth and a natural ability to communicate to you about what is going through his head - can only come from a natural genius of an actor. Rajpal Yadav is one such genius.
Notice the grinding thoughts in his head when he meets Kay Kay Menon for the first time, or the scene where he apologizes to his wife and amongst many more there is this scene where he breaks down while talking to his Bhole Baba (Lord Shiva) at the temple …that scene deserves nothing less than a standing ovation. The subtle ways this gem of an actor communicates his thoughts and feelings without having to say a word…will leave you simply amazed. Ably supported by Rituparna Sengupta, Rajpal Yadav comes out with one of the greatest performances seen in many many years.
But this film belongs to Chandan Arora. Displaying remarkable capability in using Simplicity to recite a story, yet being able to touch the deepest moments of an everyday life, is just a glimpse of brilliance this man possesses. When the rest of Bollywood is moving towards American movies or Mafia subjects for inspiration, here is one guy who walks the other way and extracts a story which could be yours, mine or any Desi living in an average Indian city.
But Bollywood rewards those who have filled its coffers 10 times over and not average grossers like MMPaW.
So in terms of art, however big an achievement MMPaW may be (with its minor blemishes), the awards will slip out of Arora’s and Yadav’s hands. And when their names aren’t among those who won the best director or the best actor awards next year - that would be a moment for every lover of cinema, every movie fanatic to hang their heads in shame.
A Grade. Watch it. This is Cinema in all its purity and simplicity.
December 13th, 2005 at 2:10 pm
when ozzie-jee recommends a movie (which is really rare) then i MUST watch that movie. Just called my desi store to reserve the dvd. Gonna watch it this evening!
December 13th, 2005 at 2:45 pm
i don’t think either chandan or rajpal will get a single award inspite such great work. awards like filmfare, stardust, zee and the gazillion others award those who brought in profits not performance. except for a critic’s award here and there, these two geniuses, as you correctly point out, will be left out in the cold.
jiten
December 13th, 2005 at 4:11 pm
Oz,
Exactly what Rakesh said!!!
I will try to locate a hindi film renting place…
This is one hindi movie I am going to watch…and if it doesn’t meet my heightened expectations then….will be making silly faces in your comment sections!!!
vi
December 13th, 2005 at 4:55 pm
Damn I’ve never seen you praise a movie (atleast a Desi one)!!! Picking this movie up on my way home, and I know it’s going to be a good one since YOU recommended it.
December 13th, 2005 at 8:58 pm
- rakesh, LOL! hey I’m not to blame if Bollywood produces crap after crap :-) you r gonna enjoy this one.
- anon, 100% agree.
- vi, and if you like the movie, fedex some gajar ka halwa which I’m lusting for these days.
- oz fan, Holy shit…too much pressure dude/dudette!
December 13th, 2005 at 10:07 pm
Oh yeah, I especially liked the scene when he’s in the bride’s house having lunch. That was beautifully done.
December 13th, 2005 at 11:21 pm
- Akhil, Excellent observation! That scene was executed quite meticulously.
December 15th, 2005 at 9:58 am
to me this movie was revisiting parallel cinema..i loved it as much as i loved Hazaron khwahishe aisi..
i hope we will see more actors like Rajpal yadav… get exposure and we have good and tasteful movies.
December 15th, 2005 at 7:43 pm
- Anon, define Parallel Cinema in your books…Hazaron Khwayishen - I couldn’t connect with this one. There were many irritating faults in Sudhir Mishra’s screenplay here.
December 17th, 2005 at 6:21 pm
hmm..Parellel Cinema to me is middleclas cinema:)
it’s about common man and realities that attch to their dreams and aspirations..sometimes cimical at times poignent..(don’t bother with my spellings)
Khwhishe Aisi..may have had faults..but its a beautiful story and I enjoyed a movie like this after a long long time…
December 19th, 2005 at 7:01 am
- Anon, ummm….if parallel cinema is middle class society then ‘Shatranj ke Khiladi’, ‘Arvind Desai ki Ajeeb Dastaan’…etc…where the story revolved around rich aristocrats….would not be parallel cinema as per your definition.
what I am getting at is that what you call parallel cinema is nothing but a different mode of communication. The media labelled “art” cinema was nothing but telling an abstract story idea with a slow as snails pace - with a very dry undertone. It was simply a mode of communication.
There is nothing wrong in you liking Hazaron Khwayishen…and others not liking it. That is the beauty of cinema…it doesn’t have to kiss every viewer’s ass to be accepted even in a small/big way.
December 19th, 2005 at 11:14 am
huh I wouldn’t call cinema as an “art” ..which makes it something of a stagnant medium…like u stand infront ofa picture and tryto fathom 20 things before u move on o 330 things u don’t understand..
but Parellel cinema was mostly appealing to middle class mass during the 80’s..it was experimental apart from entertainment there was some poignant realities thrown in..
If u are talking about those movies which came in as Art cnema..ridden by govind nihlani
who else my memory is at loss..they made cinema..for thier own sake ..common people hardly understood them and they appealed to certain type of mass dubbed as “intellectuals”
anyways ..I may not be right..
I would still like to watch the magic moments of Hrishida..mahesh bhatt and others who made us laugh and think at the same time.
Hazaron khwahishe is close to my heart coz it was like all those people I met during my activist days jumped out off the screen and it was heartwarming.
December 31st, 2005 at 1:50 am
Must agree.. Its a refreshing movie … worth a watch.. its like inhaling pure air after living in a polluted place for a while … never mind if the air is partially polluted, still
this is simple cinema at its best!
rajpal yadav, his friend, mom, uncle - most of the characters are so natural..
go watch it to experience a whiff of (fresh) air!